Chapter Text
Hiccup groaned as he woke up in the hold of yet another ship. "Great," he muttered as he realized he was tied to one of the pillars.
Through the window he could see that it was nighttime. Above him he could hear someone walking up and down the deck, pacing.
"I'm not taking him to Viggo," he heard one voice say.
"But the reward," he heard another point out. A short scream and splash quickly followed the statement.
"I'm taking him to Drago," the first voice said.
Hiccup heard the owner of the voice start walking down the steps. He closed his eyes and let his head hang, resting his chin against his chest. He listened as the man got closer to him.
The man knelt down in front of his prize and grabbed him by his cheeks, lifting his head up. Hiccup used every ounce of willpower he had to keep from reacting.
"Yes, I think I'll take him to Drago. This boy would make a fine resource," the man said, studying Hiccup. "Afterwards I'll go get his dragon. Drago would love to have a Night Fury for his army."
He dropped Hiccup's head, stood, and walked back up to the main deck.
Hiccup waited a few more minutes before opening his eyes again. *Who the Hel is Drago*, he thought as he looked around.
He needed to find a way to escape before this bounty hunter took him to where this Drago was.
Valka flew high above the clouds, watching the ship sail past the Archipelagian borders, past her territory. Even at this distance, she knew who it was. A man named Krogan, one of Drago's Hunters.
"What are you doing, Krogan?" Valka asked herself. "You aren't due back for another month."
Either Drago had called him back or found something rare enough to prompt an early return. Part of her wanted to follow to see where he was going, maybe sneak onto Drago's base. The other part wanted to attack now and quite possibly free whatever poor creature he had trapped.
Her will to free the potential dragon won out. "Dive, Cloudjumper, dive!" She commanded her Stormcutter.
Cloudjumper obliged, enjoying the thrill of a fight. The dragon folded his wings in on himself and dove straight for the ship. Only unfurling them seconds before hitting the ship.
Valka jumped off the massive dragon, landing right in front of Krogan. She made quick work of knocking him off his feet with her staff. Before he had a chance to reach for his own weapon, she hit him in the head with her staff.
"Grab and toss him, Cloudjumper," Valka ordered as she ran for the ship's hold.
She reached the bottom of the stairs, shocked to find no dragons, just a young man with a prosthetic leg tied to a pillar. Despite her confusion, she stepped over to the prisoner. Whoever he was, he didn't belong here, and she needed to get him out before Krogan made it back to his ship.
Moving slowly, she took off her helmet and set it aside as she stepped in front of the young man, who couldn't have been older than 20.
"Easy," she whispered, not wanting to startle him as she pulled out a knife. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to get you out of here."
"Yeah right. Sure. So you can claim my bounty instead?" the young man remarked, not trusting her.
"Bounty?" Valka questioned.
"Viggo's bounty," he clarified.
"I know nothing about this," Valka stated as she began to cut the ropes. "Now come on. We need to get out of here before Krogan comes back."
The ropes fell away, and the young man stood up. "How do I know this isn't a trick?" He asked, skepticism lacing his voice.
Valka picked up her helmet and put it back on. "You don't, but it's better than staying here. Now come on. I know a place where you hide."
The young man bit the inside of his cheek, clearly weighing his options. Valka didn't have time for this. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him back up the stairs.
"Cloudjumper," she called out, getting her dragon's attention.
The Stormcutter landed on the deck and lowered his head as she climbed on.
"Y-you have a dragon," the young man stammered.
"He's not going to hurt you," Valka promised, holding out her hand for him to take.
"I know." The young man took her hand and climbed on. "I just didn't realize there were other people that flew dragons."
Cloudjumper took to the air, climbing until they were high above the clouds once more.
"Other riders?" Valka asked. In her almost 20 years of flying, she had never once met another rider.
"Yeah," the young man said, seemingly more relaxed than he was moments ago. "Ever hear of Berk?"
Valka almost laughed. She turned around to look at her passenger. "I think you're confused, young man. Berk kills dragons. They don't fly them."
"We used to. Stopped about 4 years ago after I tamed a Night Fury and killed the Red Death," the young man said so nonchalantly he might as well have told her water was wet.
She needed to get a better look at this teenager she just rescued. "Cloudjumper, we need to land."
There was no way all of Berk changed because of some kid claiming the impossible. No one has ever seen a Night Fury and lived to tell the tale. Either this teenager hit his head at some point, or he was lying to scare her. Maybe he thought she was a bounty hunter for the Viggo guy he mentioned.
As Cloudjumper landed on a sea stack, she jumped off. "Give us some light." She looked up at the boy. "Come down here."
Both did as they were told.
"What's going on?" he asked, confused. "This can't be the place you mentioned."
She took her helmet off to get a better look at the boy before her. That's when she saw it. A small scar where Cloudjumper had scratched her baby all those years ago. "What's your name?"
"Uh, Hiccup," Hiccup answered. "Haddock. Hiccup Haddock."
"Son of Stoick the Vast?" Valka asked.
"Yeah, he's the chief of the Hooligan tribe on Berk as well," Hiccup replied, confused by the questions. "Wait, do you know him?"
"In a way," Valka said, feeling a mix of grief, regret, and joy all at once. "I was his wife. Your mother."
Hiccup gasped, taking a step back from her. "You're my mother‽"
Valka nodded sheepishly, at a loss for words.
Hiccup straightened up, giving her a look of disbelief and longing. "Take me home, back to Berk. I've been missing for a whole day. My friends and father are likely very worried about me."
Valka wanted to tell him it was too dangerous to fly over these waters at night. But if he was truly her and Stoick's son, he wouldn't take "No" for an answer. Stubbornness ran in both of their families.
"Let's go then," Valka said as she climbed back onto Cloudjumper. Hiccup climbed up right behind her. "We have a long flight ahead of us."
"If you're trying to tell me to rest, forget it," Hiccup said. "I'm not sleeping until I'm home."
"Let's go, Cloudjumper," Valka told her dragon. "To Berk."